Camulodunum - definition of Camulodunum by The Free Dictionary Camulodunum - definition of Camulodunum by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Col·ches·ter (kōl′chĕs′tər, -chĭ-stər) A borough of southeast England near the North Sea. It was an important pre-Roman city and the site of the first Roman colony in Britain. Colchester (ˈkəʊltʃɪstə) n (Placename) a town in E England, in NE Essex; university (1964). Pop: 104 390 (2001). Latin name: Camulodunum Col•ches•ter n. a city in NE Essex, in E England. 149,100. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: Maldon References in periodicals archive ?

THE Emperor Claudius spent just 16 days in Britain, long enough to lead his troops into Camulodunum and have his army build a huge fortress. Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Camulodunum : definition of Camulodunum and synonyms of Camulodunum (English) List of places: UK • England • Essex Camulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester , a town in Essex , England. Camulodunum is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and eventually a settlement of discharged Roman soldiers, known as Colonia Claudia Victricensis. There is archaeological evidence of settlement 3,000 years ago.

Its Celtic name was "Camulodunon", meaning "the Fortress of Camulos " (Camulos being a British god equated with the Roman Mars ). This name was modified to the Roman spelling of "Camulodunum". Contents 6 External links Prehistoric era Camulodunon was the capital of the Trinovantes tribe, who built an impressive system of earthwork defences to the west and south of the town. It was probably established as their capital by Addedomarus , a king known from his inscribed coins dating to around 25 - 10 BC (at the time of Caesar's invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, the tribe were probably based at Braughing ).

For a brief period around 10 BC Tasciovanus , a king of the Catuvellauni already issuing coins from Verlamion , also issued coins from Camulodunon, suggesting that the Trinovantes' capital had been conquered by the Catuvellauni, but he was soon forced to withdraw, perhaps as a result of Roman pressure – his later coins are no longer marked with the Latin REX (for "king"), but with the Brythonic RICON – and Addedomarus was restored. His son Dubnovellaunus succeeded him, but was soon supplanted by Tasciovanus' son Cunobelinus . Cunobelinus then succeeded his father at Verlamion, beginning the dominance of the Catuvellauni over the south-east. [1] Cunobelinus was friendly with Rome, marking his coins with the word REX and classical motifs rather than the traditional Gallo-Belgic designs. Archaeology shows an increase in imported luxury goods, probably through the port of Camulodunon, during his reign. [2] He was probably one of the British kings that Strabo says sent embassies to Augustus .

Strabo reports Rome's lucrative trade with Britain: the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs. [3] Early Roman Camulodunum Roman sphinx sculpture found in Colchester Cunobelinus had died prior to the Roman invasion under Aulus Plautius in 43, and the British defence was led by his sons Caratacus and Togodumnus . Plautius secured a crossing point of the River Thames , halted, and sent word for the emperor Claudius to lead the march to Camulodunon. Claudius arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, [4] but as Suetonius and Claudius' triumphal arch state, the British kings surrendered without further bloodshed. [5] A Roman legionary fortress or castrum , the first permanent legionary fortress to be built in Britain, was established at Camulodunum in 43. A veteran colony was established in an effort to subdue the Silures and as part of an attempt at Romanisation . [6] Later it became a colonia – a settlement of discharged Roman soldiers – and the principal city of Roman Britain.

A Roman monumental temple was built there c. 44 and was dedicated to the emperor Claudius. [7] According to Tacitus, in 60/61 when the Iceni and Trinovantes under Boudica revolted against Roman rule, the city was undefended by fortifications, [8] and was only garrisoned by 200 members of the procurator's guard. [9] The rebels destroyed the city. The settlement was a target for the rebels because the veterans who inhabited the city "drove people out of their houses, ejected them from their farms, called them captives and slaves". [8] The temple, where the citizens had taken refuge, was destroyed after a two day siege. After the defeat of the uprising, the administrative centre of the Roman province moved to the newly established commercial settlement of Londinium ( London ). [10] Roman town Roman Mosaic found at Colchester Colchester was the only place in the province of Britannia where samian ware was produced (for a short time). Roman brick making and wine growing also took place in the area. Bricks have been made in Colchester (or in the surrounding area) for around 2,000 years.

Many Roman mosaics and artifacts have been found in subsequent archaeological digs in the town and some can be seen at the Colchester Castle museum. The Roman walls still survive and they contain the largest surviving Roman gateway in Britain. Many holes have been cut in the walls over the years and the history of the whole town can be seen in its surviving structure. Medieval buttresses, shops and steps are still present in Colchester, reusing spolia . In 2005, what is up to now the only known Roman circus in Britain was discovered at Camulodunum. The structure is almost completely buried under current structures and occupations. See also BBC - Primary History - Romans - Rebellion Primary History What happened after the rebellion? Why did the British rebel? By AD 61, the Romans were in control of southern Britain. Then they faced their most serious problem to date - rebellion! It began while the Roman governor Paulinus (the soldier in charge of Roman Britain) was away in North Wales. He had led the Roman army and got rid of the Druids, the priests of the old Celtic religion. The trouble started in East Anglia.

The Iceni tribe lived there and Prasutagus, the king, was a friend of the Romans. When he died, he left half his kingdom to the Roman emperor, and half to his wife, Queen Boudicca. The Romans wanted it all. They also wanted extra taxes and they wanted Boudicca to give up her throne. Back to top How did the Romans get it wrong? The Romans treated Boudicca and her daughters very badly. They took land and farm animals away from the Iceni. The Iceni became very angry, and decided to fight back! The Romans ran away. Warriors from other tribes came to join Boudicca and her Iceni army. Back to top Which Roman towns were burned? The Britons marched to Camulodunum (Colchester), the capital of Roman Britain. Boudicca's warriors attacked the town. They burned the new Roman temple, where Roman soldiers and their families had taken shelter. Next Boudicca led her army towards Londinium (London). The Romans had made London an important town and port. By now, news of the rebellion had spread.

The Roman governor, Paulinus, dashed from Wales to London, but he did not have enough soldiers to fight Boudicca. He left London, taking his soldiers with him. Many people fled the city. The Iceni burned London and killed hundreds of people, both Britons and Romans. Back to top What did the Roman Army do? Boudicca turned north to attack another Roman town, Verulamium (St Albans). Paulinus was in the Midlands, preparing for battle. He called for more soldiers. Part of the Roman army was at Exeter, but its commander refused to come. Paulinus had to make do with what he could muster - perhaps 10,000 men. Boudicca may have had ten times more soldiers than the Romans, but the Romans were well trained. There was a great battle. The only reports of it come from Roman writers, such as Tacitus. Tacitus says most of the Britons were killed. Rather than be captured, Boudicca drank poison to kill herself. The Romans had won. Back to top What happened after the rebellion? After Boudicca's rebellion, people in southern Britain settled down to live under Roman rule.

Many Britons enjoyed living in Roman-style towns with baths and shops. Some spoke and wrote in Latin (the Roman language), and wore Roman fashions. Tacitus thought these luxuries were making the people of Britain weak. Fun Facts In a London river, archaeologists found the skulls of people possibly killed by Boudicca's army. A red-ash layer in the soil shows how hot the fire was when Roman London burned. Boudicca rode in a horse-drawn chariot. Romans said she sliced the heads off her enemies, as she charged into battle. A modern myth says that Boudicca's body is buried under platform 9 at King's Cross Station in London. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

A to D Acropolis [a-CROP-olis] The Acropolis is a large hill in the centre of Athens. On top of it were many temples and other buildings, the remains of which can be seen today. amphitheatre A place like a stadium, where Romans went to watch animals and people fighting. aqueduct A system of pipes and channels used to bring water into towns. archaeological site A place such as a ruined fort studied by archaeologists. archaeologists People who study the past by looking at old things, often found underground. archaeology Studying the past by looking at old things, often found underground. Aristophanes [aris-TOF-a-neez] Lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. He wrote comedies for the theatre in Athens. Aspasia [as-PAY-zia] Was a woman to taught public speaking in Athens. She was the partner of the famous general Perikles. Aspasia had much more independence than most women in Athens. barbarian A person who lived outside the Roman Empire, seen by Romans as violent and uncivilized. basilica A large building where town business was carried out (like a modern Town Hall).

assembly The Assembly was the public meeting of the giovernment of the city. All citizens could take part and vote there. Athena The patron goddess of Athens. A huge statue of Athena stood outside the Parthenon. Attica [A-tik-a] A wind instrument with a reed similar to a modern oboe. capital city Main city of a country, the centre of government. catapult A machine that threw rocks or burning tar at the enemies. In Latin it was called an onager. cavalry Soldiers who fight on horseback. chariot Cart with two wheels pulled by horses. Romans raced chariots, and Celtic warriors rode into battle on them. celts People who lived in Europe, including Britain, and who fought the Romans. centurion An officer commanding about 80 legionaries. citizen Person with special rights such as the right to vote and own property in the Roman Empire. Only men could be full Roman citizens. cohort There were ten cohorts in a legion. crossbow Weapon like a bow and arrow, only the string is pulled back by turning a handle and the bow is fired by releasing a trigger. In Latin it was called a ballista druids The priests of the old Celtic religion.

E to G Process where people vote to choose the people they want to be in charge. empire A large area with many people ruled by one strong leader, called an emperor. forum An open space in the middle of a town for markets and meeting people (like a market square). It was the centre of Roman town life. fort A building with walls to keep out enemies, used by soldiers. foundations Firm base for a road or building. general leader of an army, the soldier giving the orders to everyone else. gladiator A person trained to fight other gladiators or animals in amphitheatres. governor The ruler of Roman Britain, who worked for the Roman Emperor. H to L hypocaust Roman central heating. Hot air from a furnace (fire) flowed through gaps between walls and flooring latin The language spoken and written by the Romans. legate The officer commanding a whole legion. legion The main battle unit of the Roman army, its soldiers were called legionaries. There were between 4,000 and 6,000 legionaries in a legion. legend A story made up about people in the past M to O A pattern made from coloured pieces of stones and pottery.

myth A made-up story, often about gods and spirits, told to explain things such as why the sun rises and sets every day. P to Z Money paid to a retired worker or soldier. picts people who lived in Scotland republic A country without a king, queen or emperor. The Roman republic was ruled by the elected Senate. Most countries today are republics. sacred Something that is believed to be holy and to have a special connection with a god or gods. scroll Roman book, written on a long strip of paper rolled around a stick. senate The Roman government, made up of senators. senator A person elected to the Roman Senate who helped run the government. Some countries today, like the U.S.A., have senators. sewage Dirty water and toilet waste which flows into sewers from drains and toilets. sewers Pipes or tunnels that carry away sewage. slave Someone who can be sold to another person to work for nothing. A slave is not free and has no rights. slingshot Weapon for throwing stones, made from a long strip of leather and whirled around by the thrower. standard Roman army emblem, a pole with special decorations (such as a metal eagle) carried by a soldier.

Each legion had its own standards. stirrups the metal holder for a rider's foot. Attached to a horse's saddle by a leather strap. strigil A metal object used in Roman baths to scrape sweat, dirt and excess oil off. stylus A metal pen for scratching words into soft wax on wooden tablets. taxes Money or items taken by the government from people, to pay for things like the army, wars, emperor's palaces and building roads. Thatched roofs Roofs of buildings made from bundles of straw or reeds. treadmill Machine like a big wheel inside which slaves walked round, to turn the machine. tribe A group of people who live in one part of a country and are ruled by a chief. tutor A teacher who gives lessons to a student at home. underworld A gloomy place where Romans believed your soul went after you died. villa A large house in the country. Some Roman villas were farmhouses and some were like palaces. warrior A trained soldier, someone used to fighting in wars. wreath Roman Towns Roman Towns Interesting Fact Romans invented towns in Great Britain. The Romans built Britain's first towns.

They built towns all over Britain as centers to administer the people they had conquered. Within 17 years of the invasion, they had several major towns in place. connected by the famous Roman roads . Towns soon became important places for meetings and trade. Reconstruction of Roman Sichester What were Roman towns like? The Roman towns were full of fine buildings and temples. The Romans liked everything to be organised and orderly. Streets were laid out in neat, straight lines, like on a chess-board. In the middle there was a large square, called the forum. It was used as a market place and for meetings. It had shops and offices on three sides and government offices on the other side. Many towns had running water and sewers. Aqueducts were bridges for bringing water to the towns. Only the rich had water piped to their houses; everyone else used water from public fountains. The only toilets were public lavatories, which were built around the town and connected to underground sewers. What could you find in most Roman towns? Most towns would also have shops as well as the forum. At one end of the forum was a large building called the basilica. There were temples too where the Roman gods were worshipped.

Some towns had public baths , an open-air theatre and huge monumental arches. What was the general layout of a Roman town? Throughout their empire the Romans built towns in exactly the same style. They were designed in the form of a grid, with streets built at right angles to each other and parallel with one of the two main roads. The streets of Roman towns were between five and eight metres wide. Their width depended upon their importance. Each town had two main roads. One heading North-South and the other East-West. At the point where these roads met was the town centre, where the administrative centre and the forum were found. The central part of the towncontained the main businesses, with the homes and dwellings of the citizens further towards the edges of the town. What were Roman buildings made of? Buildings were made of stone and brick. They were so well built that we have been able to excavate many Roman buildings and even towns. Corbridge Roman Town as it might have looked and some of its remains today. What were the largest towns the Romans built in Britain? The three largest were London, Colchester and St. Albans. Colchester was their main town. What were the names of the Roman towns?

The Romans called our towns different names to what we know them as today. Verulamium (St Albans) Lindum (Lincoln) Eboracum (York) Every town with a name ending in 'chester' or 'caster' or ' cester' was once a Roman town e.g. Doncaster, Dorchester and Cirencester. Camulodunum (Colchester) Facts about Romans for Kids - Roman Britain Homework help Video on the Roman Empire Who founded Rome? According to the Roman legend, Romulus was the founder of Rome. Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of the God Mars. When they were very young they were abandoned by the banks of the River Tiber and left to fend for themselves. Luckily for them they were found by a she-wolf who took pity on them fed them with her milk. The boys were later found by a shepherd who raised them. The boys grew up to be very strong and clever and they decided to build a town on the spot where the Shepherd had found them. They named their town Rome. When did the Romans invade Britain? First invasion - Caesar's first raid In August 55 B.C.

(55 years before Jesus was born) the Roman general, Emperor Julius Caesar invaded Britain. He took with him two Roman legions . After winning several battles against the Celtic tribes (Britons) in south-east England he returned to France. Second invasion - Caesar's second raid The following summer (in 54 B.C.) Caesar came to Britain again landing at Walmer near Deal in Kent. This time he brought with him no fewer than five legions (30,000 foot soldiers) and 2,000 cavalrymen (horse riders). This time the Romans crossed the River Thames. After more fighting, the British tribes promised to pay tribute to Rome and were then left in peace for nearly a century. Third and final invasion Nearly one hundred years later, in 43 A.D. (43 years after Jesus was born), Emperor Claudius organised the final and successful Roman invasion of Britain. General Aulus Plautius led four legions with 25,000 men, plus an equal number of auxiliary soldiers . They crossed the Channel in three divisions, landing at Richborough, Dover, and Lympne.

( Click here for more information on the map of Kent in Roman times ) The biggest battle was fought on the banks of the River Medway, close to Rochester. It went on for two days before the Celtic tribes retreated. Many tribes tried to resist the Romans. It took about four years for the invaders to finally gain control over southern England, and another 30 years for them to conquer all of the West Country and the mountains and valleys of Wales. The battle for Yorkshire and the remainder of northern England was still underway in AD 70. The first Roman city was Camulodunum also called Colonia Vitricencis. (We know it by the name of Colchester.) It was the seat of Roman power and governance of Brittania until sacked during the Boudiccan revolt. London was then established as a seat of governance, and only became important after the Camulodunum event. Why did the Romans invade Britain? Why the Romans came to Britain is not quite certain. Two reasons have been suggested: The Romans were cross with Britain for helping the Gauls (now called the French) fight against the Roman general Julius Caesar.

They came to Britain looking for riches - land, slaves, and most of all, iron, lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold. How long did the Romans stay in Britain? The Romans remained in Britain from 43 AD to 410 AD. That is almost four hundred years (four centuries). What lanuage did the Romans speak? The Romans spoke a form of Latin known as vulgar Latin. It was quite different from the Classical Latin that we learn today. Why did the Romans leave Britain? Their homes in Italy were being attacked by fierce tribes and every soldier was needed. What did the Romans call London? The Romans called London 'Londinium'. The River Thames was quick way to transport goods between Britain and the Continent. The Romans saw this and built the town of Londinium around the river's main crossing point. Find out more about Roman London Why was the Roman Empire important? The Romans, even today, play an important part in our lives. Many of the things we do or have originated from the Romans. The Romans gave us Language The language we used today was developed from the Romans. The Romans spoke and wrote in Latin and many of our words are based on Latin words.

The Calendar Did you know that the calendar we use today is more than 2,000 years old? It was started by Julius Caesar, a Roman ruler. It is based on the movement of the earth around the sun, and so is called the 'solar calendar.' The solar calendar has 365 days a year, and 366 days every leap year, or every fourth year. The names of our months are taken from the names of Roman gods and rulers. The month 'July,' in fact, is named after Julius Caesar himself! Laws and a legal system The laws and ways we determine what to do with someone who is accused of breaking a law came originally from the Roman Empire. The Census The Roman Empire was huge and included millions of people living over a large area. How did they keep track of all these people? Easy! They counted them! The Roman Empire began the practice of taking a census, or a 'count,' of all the people within its boundaries every so often. Today, many countries like ours take a census every 10 years.

The Romans also gave us: straight roads A History of Colchester A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLCHESTER By Tim Lambert ROMAN COLCHESTER Colchester started life as a center of the local Celtic tribe, the Trinovantes. It was a group of settlements and farmland surrounded by a network of ditches. The site was about 12 square miles or 20 square kilometers. The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD and they built a fort in a piece of high ground in this center about 44 AD. The fort was surrounded by a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. The Romans left the fort about 49 AD. The Romans thought that the local tribes were now pacified and the area was safe. (They were wrong!). Still the old fort was taken over by civilians and turned into a town. It was settled by retired Roman soldiers. About 54 AD a stone temple was built to the Emperor Claudius (Roman emperors commonly claimed to be gods). Roman Colchester was called Camulodunum, from the name of the Celtic god of war Camulos and the Roman word dunum meaning fort.

In 61 AD Queen Boudicca led a rebellion and she attacked Colchester. The defenders took refuge in the temple of Claudius but the rebels broke in. They killed the people and burned the temple. They also burned the rest of the town (an easy task as most of the buildings were made of wood). However after the rebellion was crushed the Romans rebuilt Colchester. Between about 65 and 100 a wall was built around the town. There was also a small fort at Gosbecks. Roman Colchester probably had a population of 10-12,000. That seems small to us but in those days England had a tiny population and settlements were much smaller than they are today. By Roman standards Colchester was a large and important town. It was also an important port because of its position near the sea. Colchester is the earliest recorded town in England. It was first recorded in the year 77 AD. Inside Roman Colchester potters worked in clay. Other craftsmen worked in glass. Some made things of bone. There were also blacksmiths and bronze smiths. Tiles and bricks were also made in Roman Colchester. There were at least 8 temples in Colchester.

By the 4th century there was a considerable Christian community in the town and Britain's earliest known Christian church was in Colchester. The Romans also built a theater at Gosbecks. This would have been an open-air theater in the shape of a semi-circle. In the 4th century Colchester, like other Roman towns declined. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 407 AD and Roman civilization slowly broke down as fierce Saxons from Germany invaded. Life in Roman Britain SAXON COLCHESTER Town life may have ended after the Romans left. Most of the buildings in Roman Colchester were of timber and would soon have decayed and fell to pieces. A small number of Saxons may have lived within the walls of Colchester and farmed the land there but Colchester ceased to function as a town. Nevertheless the Saxons gave Colchester its name. They called it Colne Ceaster. Ceaster was the Saxon word for a group of Roman buildings. For hundreds of years history is silent about Colchester. In the 9th century the Danes invaded England and conquered the eastern side including Colchester. But the English fought back from the South and West.

The Danes probably used Colchester as a stronghold as it still had its Roman walls. Both sides, Danes and English used old Roman towns and forts as strongholds where the local men could gather in the event of an enemy attack. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a sort of national diary, mentions Colchester in the year 917 when it the English recaptured it from the Danes. The chronicle says: 'The people gathered that Autumn, from Kent, Surrey, and Essex and from the nearest burghs (fortified towns). They went to Colchester, besieged the town and fought till they overcame it and killed all the people except those who fled away over the wall'. The English then repaired the damage to Colchester and occupied it. By the late 10th century Colchester had a mint so it must have been a settlement of some importance. It also had a weekly market. COLCHESTER IN THE MIDDLE AGES In the late 11th century the Normans built a castle in Colchester. It was probably begun around 1079 and was complete by 1100. The castle was built on the vaults of the old temple of Claudius.

In 1216 some barons rebelled against king John and brought soldiers from France to help them. The French soldiers occupied Colchester castle. John's men besieged the castle and expelled the French. In 1095 St Johns Abbey was founded outside the South Gate. St Botolphs Priory was founded around 1100. (A priory was a small monastery). Early in the 12th century St Mary Magdaelenes 'hospital' for lepers was founded outside the town to the Southeast. Magdalen Road is named after the leper hospital. In the 13th century friars arrived in Colchester. Friars were like monks except that rather than withdrawing from the world they went out to preach. In Colchester there were Franciscans (known as Grey friars because of the color of their habits). There were also crutched friars (Augustinians). They had a cross sewn on their habits. They were first called Cruxed friars from crux the Latin word for cross. It became corrupted to crutched. At the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086, Colchester had 419 houses.

It may have had a population of between 2,000 and 2,500, which made it a fair sized town. It also had 4 watermills that ground grain to flour for the townspeople and 2 parish churches. By the 14th century Colchester probably had a population of around 4,000, which made it quite a large town by the standards of the time. In 1189 Colchester was given its first charter (a charter was a document allowing the townspeople certain rights and privileges). In the Middle Ages Colchester had 2 weekly markets and the merchants were allowed to elect bailiffs who ran the town. The main industry in Medieval Colchester was wool (by far England's most important export). Wool was woven in the town. It was also fulled. This means it was cleaned and thickened by pounding it in a mixture of water and clay. Wooden hammers powered by watermills did this. When it dried the wool was dyed. As well as wool there was also a leather industry in Colchester. There were many tanners. Leather was used to make all kinds of goods such as shoes, hats, saddles and bottles.

Grain was exported from the port at the Hythe, which was founded by the 12th century. (Hythe is an old English word for landing place for ships). There was also oyster fishing in the river Colne. For centuries Colchester was famous for its oysters. By 1104 Colchester had a fair. In the Middle Ages a fair was like a market but it was held only once a year and would attract buyers and sellers from London and all of East Anglia. The fair in Colchester was held by St Johns Abbey. The Abbott had the right to charge tolls on stallholders at the fair. From 1189 the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene was allowed to hold a fair. From 1310 St Botolph's Priory was allowed to hold one. By the late 12th century there was a community of Jews in Colchester. But in the late 13th century all Jews were expelled from England. Colchester was given a new charter in 1413. At that time Colchester gained its coat of arms. St Helena, the patron saint of Colchester is supposed to have found the true cross of Christ.

This is shown on the coat of arms. The red background represents the blood of Christ. In the 15th and 16th centuries by law every man had to practice archery on Sunday at the Butts. Butt Road is so named because it led to the Butts just outside the town. Life in the Middle Ages COLCHESTER IN THE 16th CENTURY In 1538 Henry VIII closed the Abbey, the priory and the friaries. His daughter Mary 1553-1558 tried to undo the religious changes of the first half of the century. During her reign some 23 Protestants from Colchester and the surrounding area were martyred in Colchester. In 1565 Queen Elizabeth allowed refugees from Holland to come to Colchester, where they made bays, a kind of cloth. By 1575 at least 500 Dutch settlers had come to Colchester. The area north of the High Street became known as the Dutch quarter. Bourne Mill was built in 1591 (although it was originally a fishing lodge).

COLCHESTER IN THE 17th CENTURY In 1635 Colchester was given a new charter and gained its first mayor. However like other towns in the 16th century and 17th century Colchester suffered outbreaks of plague. There were severe outbreaks in 1603-4 and 1665-66. The latter outbreak may have killed half the population, (which was about 8,000). Amazingly Colchester soon recovered. There were always plenty of people in the countryside willing to come and work in the town. Civil war between king and parliament raged between 1642 and 1646. Colchester escaped the fighting as it was in an area controlled by parliament during the war. Originally the townspeople supported parliament but they seem to have grown disillusioned. A second civil war broke out in 1648. In June of that year a royalist army approached Colchester. The gates were closed but after a short fight the royalist soldiers were allowed in. A parliamentary army came and laid siege to the town. The siege lasted for till the end of August and the townspeople were reduced to eating cats and dogs.

Furthermore many houses in Colchester were damaged by cannon fire. Inevitably the town surrendered. Afterwards 2 of the royalist commanders were executed next to the castle. The people of Colchester were also forced to pay a fine of 12,000 pounds (a very large sum in those days). At the end of the 17th century a travel writer, Celia Fiennes described the town: 'Colchester is a large town. You enter the town by a gate. There are 4 in all. There is a large street which runs a great length down to the bridge, its nearly a mile long. Through the middle of it runs another broad street nearly the same length in which is the Market Cross and Town Hall and a long building, like stalls, on which they lay their bays, exposed for sale. Great quantities are made here and sent in bales to London. The whole town is employed in spinning, weaving, washing, drying and dressing their bays in which they seem very industrious. The town looks a thriving place judging by the substantial houses. It has well paved streets, which are broad enough for 2 coaches to go abreast'.

COLCHESTER IN THE 18th CENTURY The Bluecoat School, a charity school for boys and girls, opened in 1710. It was called that because of the colour of the school uniforms. Hollytrees, which is now a museum was built in 1718. Colchester gained its first theatre in 1764. The Minories, which is now an art gallery, was built in 1776. During the 18th century the cloth trade in Colchester declined in the face of competition from the North of England. By the early 19th century it had died out. Although at the end of the 18th century a silk weaving industry began. Colchester dwindled to being a market town where agricultural produce was bought and sold. But it was still a fair size. In 1801 the population of Colchester was around 11,500, which was quite large by the standards of the time. In the early 19th century fulling mills (used to clean and thicken wool) were converted to milling grain to flour.

In the 18th century Colchester became famous for candied eryngo (sea holly) roots. A writer said: 'To the Colchester oysters let me subjoin another thing which Colchester is famous for viz. the excellent sweetmeats made of eryngo roots'. COLCHESTER IN THE 19th CENTURY Essex county hospital was built in 1818 and the Corn Exchange where grain could be bought and sold was built in 1820. St Botolphs Church was built in 1837. The Garrison church was built in 1856. The Castle Museum began in 1860. In the 18th century Colchester had night watchmen who patrolled the streets at night but the first modern police force in Colchester was formed in 1836. The railway to London opened in 1843. By 1851 Colchester's population had reached 19,000. In the late 19th century Colchester became famous for engineering. Machines such as steam engines were made in the town. There was also some brewing and a boot and shoe making industry.

On the other hand the silk industry died out by the late 19th century. The harbor at the Hythe faced competition from the railway but it continued to be important in the 19th century. Much of the trade was coastal. Commodities like coal were bought from other parts of the country along the coat to Colchester. During the Napoleonic war barracks were built in Colchester. Most of them were sold when the war ended in 1815 but new barracks were built in the 1850s and 1860s when Colchester became a garrison town. From 1819 Colchester had gas streetlights. The first cemetery in Colchester opened in 1856 and the first public library in Colchester opened in 1894. In the early 19th century people obtained water from wells or pumps. In 1880 the town council decided to build a piped water supply. In 1882-3 a redbrick water tower was built, it is known locally as Jumbo. Meanwhile a volunteer fire brigade was formed in Colchester in 1878. Life in Victorian Colchester gradually improved.

In the mid 19th century some sewers were built in the town center but most people continued to use an earth closet. In the 1880s the council began building a proper system of sewers for the town. Castle Park opened in 1892. In 1884 Colchester suffered an earthquake. Only 1 person was killed but many buildings were damaged. COLCHESTER IN THE 20th CENTURY By the beginning of the 20th century the population of Colchester had reached about 38,000, less than half its present size. Boot and shoe making died out in the early 20th century but engineering continued to flourish. The first electric lights in Colchester were switched on in 1901 and from 1904 electric trams ran in the streets. Buses replaced them in 1929. Meanwhile Colchester Town Hall was built in 1902 and Severalls Hospital was built in 1913. Colchester gained its first cinema in 1910. The War Memorial was built in 1923 and Hollytrees Museum opened in 1929.

Although the majority of houses built in Colchester in the early 20th century were private the council did build some houses in the 1920s. In the 1950s the council built estates at Shrub End and Monkwick. In the 1950s the army built the Montogmery estate. In the 1960s the council built Greenstead estate. Private houses were built on the St Johns estate in the 1960s. In the 1980s private houses were built at High Woods, North of the town. Meanwhile the Natural History Museum in Colchester opened in 1957. The Colchester Institute opened in 1959 and the University of Essex opened in 1961. In the late 20th century industries in Colchester included electrical equipment, bearings and diesel engines. Colchester's harbour, the Hythe, flourished in the late 20th century. The Social History Museum in Colchester opened in 1974 and Bosbeks Archaeological Park opened in 1995. Meanwhile the shopping center in Colchester was developed.

Lion Walk precinct was built in 1976. Culver Street Precinct opened in 1987 and St Johns Walk in 1990. Meanwhile In the 1980s an inner relief road was built at Colchester. Furthermore Colchester General Hospital opened in 1985. In the 21st century Colchester continued to flourish. A Visual Arts Centre opened in 2011. Today the population of Colchester is 104,000. BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: Roman Colchester: Britain's First City Print this page Pre-Roman Colchester It is very difficult to represent pre-Roman Colchester, because the site was so nebulous. The best physical indications of it are the Gosbecks dykes, of which the most impressive is Grym's Dyke; but even these just look like big, overgrown ditches. There are some nice burial goods from the Lexden Tumulus (itself less than impressive), and it is possible to see the outline of Cunobelin's farmstead in crop marks.

...after a botched attempt in 55...Caesar returned to finish the job in 54 BC. Colchester was called Camulodunum, which is a Romanisation of its Iron-Age name: the Fortress (-dunum) of Camulos, God of War. The original site of the Iron-Age settlement was some 3 miles south-west of the current city at Gosbecks. There, a sprawling Iron-Age farmstead was established, covering a roughly triangular area of approximately 10 miles which was surrounded by rivers on two sides and a complicated system of dykes on its open western end. It is these dykes which are the only real vestiges of the settlement today, forming great,sunken lanes in the flat Essex countryside. The Trinovantes and Catuvellauni Camulodunum was a hugely important site in pre-Roman times. It was most likely the royal stronghold of the Trinovantes, on whose behalf Julius Caesar invaded in 55 and 54 BC. At this time, the Catuvellauni under their king Cassivellaunus were spreading their authority as southern Britain's largest tribe across the south-eastern counties.

It seems that Cassivellaunus invaded Trinovantian territory and murdered its king, whose son, Mandubracius, fled to Caesar for help. This gave Caesar the excuse he was looking for to invade, and after a botched attempt in 55 (which even his own propaganda cannot quite disguise), Caesar returned to finish the job in 54 BC. He chased Cassivellaunus back to his stronghold, which he stormed from two sides, forcing Cassivellaunus to flee and come to terms. A modern day Celtic couple © It is a moot point where this encampment was. Our best guess is Wheathamstead, Herts, but it is possible (though I do not think probable) that Cassivellaunus had transferred his capital to Camulodunum. Part of the problem is one of dating, since we do not know when Camulodunum came into Catuvellaunian hands. Our best dating criteria are by coins, but the earliest coins in the area are for the Catuvellaunian king, Tasciovanus, who ruled c.25-15 BC.

By c.AD 10, Cunobelin the nephew of Cassivellaunus, had taken over the area and his coinage reflects this. The last Trinovantian king was called Addedomaros. It is possible that his remains are buried in the Lexden Tumulus, close to Gosbecks. The king who was buried here had been ritually burned along with his goods, which were a mixture of Celtic and Roman ornaments. Among them were the fragments of a small casket, within which was a medallion bearing the head of the Emperor Augustus. Top The Claudian invasion A gravestone commemorating a centurion of the 20th Legion, dating from before AD 60. © When Claudius became Roman emperor in AD 41, he understood that in order to survive he needed a triumph. He used the appeal of the British chieftain, Verica, as his excuse for action. Verica was a king of the Atrebates who had been driven out by Cunobelin's successor, Caratacus.

The Roman legions under Aulus Plautius landed at Richborough, surprised the British army at the River Medway and pushed Caratacus back to his stronghold at Camulodunum (Colchester). Camulodunum was of immense strategic importance... There, Plautius waited for the Emperor Claudius to arrive from Rome, bringing additional troops including a force of elephants with him. Claudius himself led the final storming of the Catuvellauni stronghold, which went very like Caesar's earlier assault. Caratacus and his followers escaped in their chariots from the back of the fort and went on the run. He was eventually betrayed by Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes and handed over to Rome, to be paraded in chains through Rome. Gravestone of a centurion © As the royal stronghold of the major tribe in the south-east, Camulodunum was of immense strategic importance, which is why a legionary fortress was immediately begun on an spur of flat land nearby. Britain had never seen anything like it.

Vast quantities of timber, sand, gravel and clay were brought from the surrounding area to create a huge, regimented settlement completely unlike the sprawling hill-forts the Britons were used to. For the first time, bricks and mortar were used in Britain to create buildings which we would not find unfamiliar today. Top Britain's first city Gladiators on a vase from Colchester. The gladiator holding up his finger is asking for mercy. © Even before it was complete, the function of the fortress had been changed. The conquest of Britain had moved on and instead of a military base, what Rome needed now was a colony. The Roman word colonia was a specific term for a planned town inhabited by military veterans. They would be allocated plots of land within the bounds of the settlement in order to establish a Roman presence within the conquered area. This is what the Roman fortress of Camulodunum was turned into. It became Britain's first-ever city. Doing this, the Romans quite literally brought civilisation to Britain, as the word derives from the Roman word civitas, meaning 'city'.

The city of Colonia Victricensis (The City of Victory) was deliberately placed within the bounds of the Roman fortress, using its street plan and converting the barrack blocks into houses. ...a monumental arch was built, commemorating the Claudian conquest of Britain. In place of the military gate at the western entrance to the fort, a monumental arch was built, commemorating the Claudian conquest of Britain. Later, when the city acquired walls, this was incorporated into the western gate of the city and though nothing of the actual arch now remains, what is left of the gate and its walls still stand at the Balkerne Gate. Similar monuments were erected in Rome, Gaul and at Aphrodisias in Turkey. Some fragments of these survive and because the Romans used the same formula for their monuments all over the empire, it is possible to use these to reconstruct pretty accurately what this arch and gate would have looked like.

The inscription will have read: 'To Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, son of Drusus, Pontifex Maximus, with Tribunician Power for the eleventh time, Consul 5 times, hailed as Imperator 22 times, Censor, Father of his Country, the senate and people of Rome grant this because he received the surrender of 11 kings of the Britons conquered without loss, and he first brought the barbarian peoples across the Ocean under the authority of the Roman people'. A copy of the head of Claudius © The annexe of the old fortress was converted into the precinct for a monumental Temple to the imperial cult. Today the site is occupied by a Norman castle, built directly onto the foundations of the old temple out of re-used Roman stone. However, it is possible to see what the original temple precinct must have looked like by going to Nimes, where the Maison Carée still stands, surrounded by colonnades. Once again, nothing like it had ever been seen in Britain before. Within the temple stood a life-size bronze statue of the Emperor Claudius, of which the head still survives.

The local tribal magnates were recruited into the temple cult, but the financial burden of running the temple and the arrogant maltreatment of the locals by the colonists was to cause resentment which boiled into the Boudiccan revolt. Top Devastation At the time of the revolt, the Romans were so sure of their hold on East Anglia that the only troops in the area were 200 members of the procurator's guard. Even joined by the veteran colonists, these were woefully inadequate to stop the tribal tide that descended upon an undefended Colchester. Tacitus says that: 'It seemed easy to destroy the settlement; for it had no walls. That was a matter which Roman commanders, thinking of amenities rather than needs, had neglected.' (Annals xiv.30), and the archaeological record confirms that the walls of the legionary fortress had been filled in to make way for the temple precinct and other amenities. Terror in the temple It was to this precinct that the survivors of the attack retreated, barricading themselves into the inner sanctuary of the temple, which was burned to the ground with them in it.

It is possible today to huddle inside the foundations of that temple and envisage those last hours: men, women and children crammed within a dark space like this, waiting in terror for relief that never came, as they listened to thousands of bloodthirsty Britons destroying their town outside. Eventually they could smell the choking smoke and feel the crackling flames that spelled the end. The temple was burned to the ground. Only the foundations survive. The cult statue of Claudius that stood within it was smashed to pieces, and its head was discovered a few years ago in the River Alde a few miles from the town. Archaeological evidence The entire town was burned to the ground, leaving a black destruction layer and rubble in the soil. There is evidence of this destruction throughout the town, though it can only be accessed through rostrum pics from the archaeological excavations and a few remains. The entire town was burned to the ground, leaving a black destruction layer and rubble in the soil. In some places, like Lion Walk, more tangible evidence of this destruction has survived. From a house in this site, the burned remains of a couch was recovered, its carbonised upholstery still intact.

In the same house, a bowl of carbonised dates (and one plum) were also recovered. Each of these is a remarkable preservation of organic materials which do not usually survive. Interestingly, with the single exception of a charred skeleton from North Hill, no human remains unequivocally linked to the Boudiccan Revolt have been recovered. This may be because the townsfolk fled or were taken elsewhere to be massacred (Dio paints a chilling picture of mass sacrifices in sacred groves: Dio LXXII), though in my opinion nobody ever takes into account the clean-up operation that must have occurred afterwards. On a more speculative note, the skulls and incomplete remains of six men were found in the legionary ditch at the Balkerne gate. Two of the skulls show evidence of wounds inflicted to the back of the head, one of which was hit a couple of times by poorly-aimed blows intended to sever the neck. These are invariably interpreted as executions, and I would not argue with that. However, since other evidence shows an arm chopped off above the elbow, I wonder whether these might be remains from the revolt, rather than the judicial executions they are usually thought to be?

Top A new city Roman artefacts found at Colchester © The ephemeral nature of the Boudiccan Revolt is evidenced by the speed with which the city rose from its ashes. By AD 65 it was surrounded by a newly built city wall. However, the Roman administration took this opportunity to move the capital south to the better-placed Londinium. ...the remains of Roman Colchester's buildings are completely hidden... Since it is so built-up, the remains of Roman Colchester's buildings are completely hidden, though you can still see the shape of the Roman town in the lines of its walls and main streets. The best example of a Roman town is Wroxeter, where the undisturbed remains of the Roman city of Viriconium have been painstakingly excavated by Birmingham University. The foundations of its forum and bath-house now form an English Heritage monument, and it is possible to see the layout of the whole site from the air. The best Roman bath-house site is of course the Temple of Aquae-Sulis at Bath. Comic figurines © For Roman villa life, we should go to Bignor, which is in my opinion the most impressive Roman villa site in Britain.

Much of its walls survive, as well as an impressive collection of mosaics. From all of these sites there is a wealth of artefacts with which to illustrate the minutiae of Roman life. One of my favourites is the little set of comic figurines from a child's grave in Colchester. These depict a Roman dining party, with reclining figures, servants and even couches and chairs on which to put the figures. By AD 200, Colchester itself was a modestly wealthy town. Its inhabitants could afford large, well-appointed town houses, whilst the wealthiest lived outside the towns in country villas. However, by the fourth century, most Roman towns were shrinking as those who could afford to do so shirked their civic responsibilities by living in ever more elaborate villa sites outside the city walls. Top After the Romans Colchester Castle © Both the sub-Roman Britons and the invading Anglo-Saxons were desperate to maintain some semblance of Roman civilisation - after all, this is precisely what made the empire so attractive to the barbarians - but the former no longer had the power and the latter did not have the experience to make it work.

If Gildas is to be believed, the sub-Roman aristocracy refused to co-operate with the barbarian invaders and withdrew into Wales, whilst the Anglo-Saxons occupied the old Roman sites. Without the infrastructure of the Roman imperial machine in place to run the show, Roman civilisation could not be maintained, and the safest place to be was behind the walls of re-used hill forts and the abandoned towns. ...it became impossible to maintain any semblance of civil life... This is what happened to Colchester. Anglo-Saxon settlers moved in and established grubenhauser style huts on the remnants of the Roman city almost immediately. At Lion Walk, a fifth-century hut like those found at West Stow in Suffolk was built directly on top of an abandoned Romano-British house soon after its abandonment. We can imagine the old sub-Roman population gradually moving out as it became impossible to maintain any semblance of civil life; the uncared for buildings eroding and the new settlers moving within the protection of the city walls to set up house on top of the rubble - all within a generation.

They even used the same street plan, so that the High Street of modern Colchester still runs along the route of the Via Praetoria of the old Roman fort, with Head Street and North Hill forming a T-junction at one end along the line of the Via Principalis. Yet just because civil life had to be abandoned, it does not mean that everyone moved out of the cities completely. There is not enough evidence to say anything much about Colchester but in Wroxeter, there is good evidence that the bath-house was still being used as a public space throughout the fifth century. Though it had ceased in its original function, its ceiling was deliberately dismantled and used to create a tiled square some time between 490 and 550. After that, a Roman-style winged building was erected inside the shell and remained in use for at least 75 years. This means that people were living a recognisably Roman style of life in Wroxeter well into the seventh century. As the new settlers became more sophisticated in their building techniques, they began to erect public buildings out of the rubble that was lying all around them. Colchester has several outstanding examples of this practice, the most significant of which is Holy Trinity Church.

Built fairly late, during the eleventh century, it is made entirely out of re-used Roman stone: the perfect example of an Anglicised Roman institution (the Church) built out of the rubble of Roman Britain. Finally, Colchester Castle, founded by William the Conqueror himself, was built once again out of re-used Roman stone, and was deliberately placed around the base of the old Roman temple to give its foundations strength. This great monument to the last of Britain's conquerors was therefore placed directly on the spot where the first great monument to the conquest of Britain had been erected over 1,000 years before. Camulodunum « Photographic Memory April 22, 2012 By Photographic Memory in On The Road Tags: Art , Boudica , Camulodunum , Cemeteries of Roman Colchester , Colchester , Death , History , Londinium , Romans Leave a comment “Welcome to The Art of Death” these were the very words spoken to me, in conversation with an archaeologist, having a sense of black humour.

We were looking at a Roman lead coffin, accompanied by pottery and a glass lachrymatory which was found in Creffield Road Colchester in 1887. A lead pipe attached to the coffin which would go up to the surface of the soil. Mourners used this pipe to pour offerings into the grave. He had taken part in some of the largest digs in Colchester and was now talking in-depth through the finds. These investigations have had a substantial impact on our understanding of the origins and development of town life in Britain. Nearly 200 buildings were examined in Colchester town centre ranging in date from barracks and other buildings of the legionary fortress to late medieval and post-medieval town houses. The discovery of the legionary fortress and of its conversion to make the Roman town was of fundamental importance. Of particular note, a Roman church, the Butt Road Roman cemetery, sequences through the defences of the Claudian fortress, the Roman town, and the Medieval town. I was back on the road this April and although I have been in many locations, I’m going to start in Colchester in Essex, Britain’s oldest recorded town.

The earliest record of the town’s existence is a reference by the Roman writer, Pliny the Elder in AD77, Pliny was one of the victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed Pompeii – died AD79. In a manuscript he describes the island of Anglesey (Coast North West Wales), he wrote that ‘it is about 200 miles from Camulodunum, a town in Britain. Camulodunum being the pre-Roman name for Colchester. This is the first known reference to any named settlement in this country. The name Camulodunum (C.A.M), first occurs on rare coins of Tasciovanus (historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe, before the Roman conquest of Britain) of the late 1st century B.C. Whether we realise it or not, most of our everyday lives are still shaped by the ancient Roman civilisation that conquered Britain approximately 2000 years ago. We can only imagine how primitive Britain must have appeared to the Romans, when they arrived. People were living in mud huts, whilst the Romans had left behind their villas.

The British bathed in rivers, whilst their invaders would conduct business meetings in public baths the Romans were to change Britain forever. They introduced Christianity, churches were built in the Roman style, known as Basilica. The British elite received an education, which included Latin. The Romans engineered over 6,000 miles of straight roads. The network still survives today. People had begun to move away from the countryside and live in the new towns that had sprung up during the Roman’s rule. The economic centre of these was the market place, where people could buy and sell their goods, including imports for the first time. By the time the Romans were called back by their legion in 409 AD, they left behind them a place called Britannia. They had converted the British Isles from a collection of many separate districts into one, organised province. They had also relocated the capital of Britain from Colchester to a place called Londinium (London). London maybe steeped in History, but to go to the core look outside the city walls, to its towns and villages. This is where you will find myself, chasing inspiration, to find out about life, you must first uncover the things that are buried.

From the uncovering of the archaeological excavation, many battles took place, the Romans fought hard with the British tribes. Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni tribe (Norfolk and north-west Suffolk) who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will was ignored, under celtic rule, If a man has no sons his daughters can inherit a lifetime interest in his land. Under Roman law, while a woman could inherit property from her mother, the heir to the throne and land must be a male, therefore Prasutagus will was deemed invalid. Boudica, Prasutagus widow, spoke of the injustices done to the people, the Roman response, the kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged, her daughters were raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans.

In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey in northern Wales, Boudica led the Iceni people, along with the Trinovantes (tribal territories at Colchester) and others, in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern Colchester), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes (Tribe of Essex/South Suffolk), but now a colonia (a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers) and the site of a temple to the former emperor Claudius, which was built and maintained at local expense. On hearing the news of the revolt Suetonius hurried to Londinium (London), the twenty-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels’ next target. Concluding that he did not have the numbers to defend the settlement, Suetonius evacuated and abandoned it. Londinium was burnt to the ground, as was Verulamium (St Albans). Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces in the West Midlands and, despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated the Britons in the Battle of Watling Street.

The crisis caused the emperor Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from Britain, but Suetonius’ eventual victory over Boudica re-secured Roman control of the province. Boudica then either killed herself so she would not be captured, or fell ill and died. The cemeteries of Roman Colchester, providing one of the largest pools of information about Roman-British urban cemeteries and burial practice, have yielded more than 1,400 graves and about 2,000 objects, excluding coffins nails and human bones. There was a concentration of tombstones and sculptured stone on the frontages of the main approach road to the west side of the colony, the most esteemed of the cemetery areas. Among them were the tombstones of Facilis and Longinus (mention in detail, below), a walled cemetery. and a monument incorporating the so-called Colchester Sphinx. Most cremation burials in Colchester seem to have consisted of a cinerary urn and possibly one other vessel. The richest burials tend to come from the area on the south-west side of the town. At the cemetery at Butt Road 742 inhumations were found.

There were effectively two cemeteries, the first and smaller being of the 3rd and early 4th century with burials arranged roughly north-south. In the second cemetery most inhumations were east-west and of the 4th century; they were probably Christian and contemporary with the cemetery church. More than half the graves of the first cemetery contained at least one object. In the second cemetery grave goods were rarer: only 6 per cent of adults and 12 per cent of children were accompanied by objects, mostly the personal adornments of women and girls. Over 90 per cent of the excavated inhumations at Colchester were in wooden coffins. Coffins made of split tree trunks were found at Butt Road, but at least 21 other recorded coffins from the town were either entirely of lead or were of wood lined with lead. Stone coffins seem to have been very rare in Roman Colchester, only two being attested. The bodies in at least four lead coffins and seven wooden ones, all but one from Butt Road, had been covered or at least partly covered by some kind of plaster.

The objects in the graves do not seem to have been specially made funerary pieces but to have been in everyday use, and it seems likely that some were important or favoured possessions of the dead person. Some vessels were poorly made and of inferior quality, even including wasters, often they are coated internally with lime-scale showing prior use. A large proportion of the objects inside are small, presumably such objects usually indicate the graves of children, with whom small pots and lamps could have been associated in life. Colchester Castle is your meeting point for all the above information, this is really the treasure trove, of death to how we see life now. The Castle was built by the Normans (from Normandy in France) from around 1076, as part of their defence system, following their invasion of England in 1066. It is an impressive structure, indeed the largest Norman keep ever built and the first to be built by William the Conqueror in England. His steward (or dapifer) Eudo de Rie, carried out the initial building work.

Its great size is due to the fact that the keep was built around the podium of the Roman Temple of Claudius, destroyed by the Iceni Queen Boudica in AD 60 or 61. This must have been a place of great significance to the English whom the Normans had conquered and there would have been a wish to attach their authority to the powerful magic of the location. The castle is built almost entirely from reclaimed Roman materials, roof tiles being in abundance and heavily used in the walls. The large windows in the above view are not original but put in by Charles Gray in the 18th century, to give more light, replacing the smaller Norman slit windows that would once have been there. The originals can be seen elsewhere on the building faces. The present day foot bridge leading into the castle keep spans these older foundations and takes the visitor through a typically magnificent Norman archway. Inside we travel through time to the present day. The Colchester Sphinx Discovered in 1821, the Sphinx now crouches on a pedestal at the entrance to Colchester Castle Museum.

With wings, human head and half-body, and the body of a lioness, crouching over a human head, hands, and bones, the Sphinx is two foot nine inches high, including the base. Carved in British stone, this work by a Roman artist probably dates back to the second century and would have formed part of a Roman military tomb. Sphinx, the peaceful symbol of death or guardians of the tomb or bearers of the soul to heaven. Death, human remains from Colchester’s Roman period, with clear evidence of bone disease. The Camilla Project is also in here, female skeleton (Name Given, Camilla) discovered in the huge graveyard of the Butt Road area alongside what is believed to have been her husband. Her skull was used to rebuild a model face how it is thought she would have looked in the 4th century, archaeologists are trying to determine a link between her and modern day descendants, through DNA testing. The finest tombstone examples in Britain, dated around AD60 and perhaps thrown to the ground in disgust by Boudica’s forces during their rampages. There it lay for almost 2000 years, until its chance discovery in 1928 by local workmen.

Longinus Sdapeze was the second in command of a Thracian cavalry unit, an auxillary soldier (not a Roman). Longinus was his Roman name, Sdapeze was his tribal name. He died in Colchester after fifteen years of service to the Roman army. The stone indicates that the 40 year old Longinus was born in the area of the modern day Sofia, capital city of Bulgaria. It reveals that he was a duplicarius, one of the highest paid cavalry positions. His heirs erected the tombstone, according to his will, probably funded from the contributions given by fellow soldiers to provide such a stone. Longinus died in AD49, soon after the invasion in 43, suggesting that he may have come to Britain with Claudius’s invasion force, and possibly marched into Colchester in the emperor’s procession. It is the oldest Roman gravestone in Britain. The tombstone shows fine detail of his attire, in particular, detail of the scale-armored cuirass (lorica squamata), a coolus helmet, an oval shield and the elaborate bronze phalerae covering the strapping on the horse’s harness.

The fallen warrior (presumably representative of a Briton) is in a foetal position being trampled underneath the horse. A powerful message, bound to anger the indigenous population. His spear has been broken in antiquity. The second tombstone found, is from 100 AD, and stands as the best example as to how a Roman centurion would have dressed, it belongs to Marcus Favonius facilis son of Marcus of the Pollian Tribe Centurion of the Twentieth Legion. Plague of 1348 and 1665 hit Colchester very hard, half the (town) was lost in 1665 according to my notes, but also noted was the novelists Daniel Defoe, he mentions in a tour through England and Wales that the town lost 5259 people to the plague in 1665, “more in proportion than any of its neighbours, or than the city of London”. By the time he wrote this in 1722, however, he estimated its population to be around 40,000 (including “out-villages”). By the 14th century Colchester Castle was obsolete, being used mainly as a prison.

In 1648, during the Second English Civil War, a Royalist army led by Lord Goring entered the town. A pursuing Parliamentary army led by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Henry Ireton surrounded the town for eleven and a half weeks, a period known as the Siege of Colchester. It started on the 13 June. The Royalists surrendered in the late summer (on the 27 August Lord Goring signed the surrender document in the Kings Head Inn) and Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle were executed in the grounds of Colchester Castle. A small obelisk marks the spot where they fell. The vaults of the castle were discovered in 1683 by a man called John Wheeley who had bought the building for the sole purpose of demolishing it and selling off the materials for building works. Thankfully, the task defeated him and he went bankrupt as a result. During his endeavours, he discovered the Roman podium of the Claudian temple, around which the castle was built. It could be argued that this would have never been discovered, had he not carried out his demolition work, as modern-day conservation might have prevented such invasive exploration.

In 1727 the castle was purchased as a wedding gift for Charles Gray, a local man who later became an MP for Colchester. Whilst he lived in the nearby Georgian mansion, he set about restoring the south front of Colchester Castle to a habitable state, adding the tiled roof and dome as well as a study and library. The crypt was opened to the public in 1860 as a museum, starting a trend that has continued to the present day. Andrea Bowhill

Question: Which English town was called Camulodunum in Latin?
Answer: Colchester